Panel in Fort Morgan talks about refugees

Many rumors not true

ByDAN BARKER Times News Editor

Posted:
12/13/2012 04:51:44 PM MST

Updated:
12/14/2012 10:29:34 AM MST

From left, OneMorgan County Executive Director Brenda Zion, Cargill Meat Solutions General Manager Nicole Johnson-Hoffman, Fort Morgan Police Chief Keith Kuretich, Joe Wismann-Horther of the Colorado Refugee Services Program, James Horan of Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains and Greg Wagers of OneMorgan CountyÂ? talked about refugees that have moved to the community and how the community and state have responded during a panel discussion Tuesday at the Fort Morgan Museum.
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Fort Morgan has caught the attention of refugee advocates, and they came to get a tour of the city and talk about refugees Tuesday.

Joe Wismann-Horther of the Colorado Refugee Services Program and James Horan of Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains joined Cargill Meat Solutions General Manager Nicole Johnson-Hoffman, Fort Morgan Police Chief Keith Kuretich, former Fort Morgan School District Superintendent Greg Wagers and OneMorgan County Executive Director Brenda Zion on a panel to talk about the influx of African refugees and other newcomers in a panel discussion at the Fort Morgan Museum.

Fort Morgan has been a diverse community for a long time, Wagers said.

An exhibit about conflict resolution was the backdrop for a panel discussion about local refugees and immigrants.
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A few years ago, the city had a large Latino population, which was why OneMorgan County was created, but African refugees started coming to the city about 2007 in search of jobs at Cargill.

At first, they came as individuals, but they began bringing their families later, he said. That gave the school district a chance to prepare for a different population. Teachers and administrators built on the previous English as a Second Language programs, but instead of just English and Spanish in schools, there were multiple languages as Africans, Russians, Chinese, Turks and people from other countries moved to Fort Morgan.

The district started the Migrant Education Newcomer Academy to help refugees and other immigrants to learn English and catch up on academics, Wagers said.

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Johnson-Hoffman said it was not a big shock to her plant, because the demographics of the beef factory are always shifting. Those who work in the industry tend to be first-generation Americans.

That is because these are good jobs for those who do not have good English skills, and they can develop job skills, she said.

Cargill is required by law to be both color and religion blind as long as someone has a right to work in the U.S., Johnson-Hoffman said.

This was before the recession in a booming economy, and it was harder to find plant workers, she said.

"We were grateful for the influx of refugees from Somalia," Johnson-Hoffman said.

When Africans first began arriving in Fort Morgan, some residents were alarmed to see groups of Black men congregating, and the Fort Morgan Police Department received calls about gangs forming, Kuretich said.

Others feared the city was vulnerable to terrorism from the new Muslim residents, he said.

Refugees did not understand they could not loiter around businesses, because that was where they congregated in their native lands, and their custom of bartering was interpreted as rudeness by shopkeepers, Kuretich said.

Fort Morgan police officers talked about their experiences with refugees when a group of immigration experts came to Fort Morgan Tuesday.
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FMPD addressed the rumors and misunderstandings, and partnered with refugee elders to help the new residents to learn local customs and laws, he said.

That did not stop false reports of things like child abductions, rapes and a shooting, Kuretich said. His department checked out those reports, and tried to let the community know that these things did not happen.

Zion asked that if people hear rumors they contact FMPD or OneMorgan County before they spread them. The city benefits when true information goes out.

Over time, the community has come together, and there are fewer differences between the newcomers and the native Fort Morgan residents, Kuretich said.

Those at the panel saw a video that brought up the difference between assimilation and integration. This video presented the voices of people from Fort Morgan and Denver who work with refugees.

One participant asked what the difference was between integration and assimilation. Assimilation assumes that immigrants must become just like the culture they move into. Integration means immigrants learn local customs, but they retain their cultural roots.

It is more like a "tossed salad" than a "melting pot," Zion said.

Integration is a dynamic, two-way process that transforms everyone in the community, not just the immigrants.

However, that does not mean that those who were living in the community first lose their identities when they are open to different people, said one person on the video.

A number of people went to the Fort Morgan Museum to hear about refugees that have moved into Fort Morgan over the past five years.
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Each side can hold onto its own culture while learning about other cultures.

The new energy immigrants bring benefits everyone, the video said.

Fort Morgan Museum and Library Services Director Andrew Dunehoo said that from a historical perspective immigrants coming to Morgan County for work is nothing new. Russian-Germans and Japanese people came to the area to find a better life.

"It's been its own Ellis Island," Dunehoo said, and the new exhibit at the museum reflects that diversity over the decades.

People worried about the Germans when they first arrived, and that worry is happening again, he said.

Employment

English skills are crucial to finding employment.

A representative of the Fort Morgan Workforce Center said he noticed that employment opportunities are limited in the county for those who do not speak English well.

Refugees who do not do well at Cargill are not finding other jobs, he said.

That has been an issue since refugees started coming to the U.S., Horan said. Only a small number of businesses have been willing to work around the language issue.

But Fort Morgan does not see refugees who are out of work hanging around. If Cargill does not work out, they migrate somewhere else, he said.

Refugees make up a vulnerable population, and it can take them longer to adjust to a new culture. Often, it is the second generation that moves up in society, Wismann-Horther said.

Job-readiness training to give people interviewing skills and understanding of what they should wear to work and interviews can help, Horan said, as can training for specific jobs, but there is a limit to what that can do.

"(English) is the foundation, no doubt," he said.

Johnson-Hoffman said Cargill wants spouses and children to be able to find jobs. It is frustrating that they rarely find employment, because they truly want to make a life in Morgan County.

That is one reason Cargill created its Workforce Education Center, she said.

Morgan Community College's Adult Basic Education program offers extensive English classes, and Cargill also offers ESL classes, said ABE Director Julie Waters. Hundreds of immigrants go through those programs.

Immigrants realize the need to speak the American language, she said.

It is important for people to understand that immigrants and refugees are excited to learn English, Waters said.

"They want to learn," Waters said. "They want to be a part of the community . . . They want to be here."

ABE has had ESL classes for many years, but is has had to adapt to the new cultures and languages recently. Instead of two languages, there are now 17 languages for people who come from 26 different countries, she said.

Unfortunately, the state of Colorado does not offer funding for English programs or adult education, Waters said. ABE must rely on limited federal dollars and grants.

It takes local donations to support the ESL program, she said. English classes and adult education makes people better employees and the ability to find work.

Actually, Fort Morgan has a great foundation for helping immigrants, said Kit Chalberg of the U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service.

Jeremy Lee of Regis University wondered if the area has a business mentor program to help immigrants to start their own businesses.

Unfortunately, the LFS office does not have enough staff to coordinate a large-scale volunteer program, Horan said.

The Wayfinders Endeavor goes beyond helping teach English one-on-one to mentoring people, but she found it requires a huge amount of support for the volunteers, Zion said. She is trying to find the best way to make that happen.

Zion said even opening a small business comes back to English skills, and OMC has discussed finding business mentors for immigrants.

Refugees are initially brought to big cities like Denver and Colorado Springs, but they migrate to places like Fort Morgan for jobs, Horan said. Fewer than 10 refugees have come directly to Fort Morgan, mostly because they have relatives in the city.

Horan noted that of all the communities in Colorado, Fort Morgan is the most affected, because the numbers of refugees make up a larger percentage of the local population.

It was easier for LFS to work in Fort Morgan, though, because it had a coordinated effort, he said.

"That made it much more effective," Horan said.

He said he has profound respect for how community organizations have worked together.

Colette West of the Global Refugee Center in Greeley complimented Fort Morgan for what it has done. She noted that city residents are very welcoming.

LFS helps communities and refugees with resettlement, but it would be nice to have more resources, Wismann-Horther said, especially to help with secondary migration like that in Fort Morgan.

He said he has worked hard to find as much funding as possible.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Greeley and other parts of the country fueled the hiring of refugees in places like Fort Morgan, Wismann-Horther said, because beef plants needed to find employees to replace those who were lost.

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